Lithium-ion batteries have gained widespread adoption in portable electronic devices, and are increasingly being used in larger-scale systems such as hybrid and electric vehicles and power generation systems. However, attempts to scale lithium-ion battery technology to these larger applications has exposed a number of problems.
First, the cost of lithium is high compared to conventional nickel, cadmium and lead based battery technologies, and these costs are magnified for larger sized batteries. Thus, there is a need for reducing or eliminating the about of lithium used in the battery. The relatively low proven reserves of lithium in the United States may also limit Li-based battery development and production in that country.
Second, there are safety concerns with some types of lithium battery technology that may be more prone to explosions and fires when scaled to larger sizes. For example, lithium-based batteries that use lithium-cobalt (LiCoO2) cathodes can sometimes experience a release of oxygen during intense and/or frequent electrical charging and discharging cycles. The released oxygen is combustible, and can react with other components in the battery to create a fire or explosion.
Partly in response to the safety concerns with lithium-cobalt technology, other lithium-based materials have been examined for battery applications. One of these compounds is lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4). However, bulk LiFePO4 has proven to have relatively slow mass and charge transport properties, resulting in relatively poor battery power output. Sol-gel processes used to make LiFePO4 materials for batteries are also inefficient and expensive, further increasing the cost of these batteries. Thus, there is a need for new approaches to making Li-based batteries and their components with improved performance and reduced cost.